Encouraging Writing in English on Both Sides of the Causeway

English matters. As a medium of communication, we reach the world with it and the world reaches us. That’s a fact we can’t ignore. Hence, Malaysians writing in English is a bridge for us to connect with the global audience. ... And, since English is a widely spoken language in the country, it’s a medium for us to connect with each other as well. ... Malaysian literature in English is unique to us. We wrestle with demons uniquely our own and our works reflect that. But are we seeing enough Malaysians write in English?

asks Rizal Solomon in today's New Straits Times. He says that he was stung into feeling guilty by Wong Phui Nam's words at the Singapore Writers' Festival KL press launch : wasn't he himself guilty of not really paying attention to local writing talent? He took the opportunity to talk to writers from both sides of the causeway at the festival.

Veteran novelist K.S. Maniam says (and I personally really applaud this) :

I think they have to break down this wall between writing in the national language and writing in English, Tamil and Chinese. We have to say all writing is Malaysian.

Maniam mentions some of the factors which will really help and encourage local writers - much more translation, workshops, competitions and awards.

Singaporean Wena Poon tackles an attitude problem:

Many Singaporeans complain there is no point producing art because there is no audience in Singapore; people won’t buy tickets or books. They assume the readers’ lack of sophistication and everybody gets depressed. That’s a non-constructive view ... Even in America, the typical layman doesn’t give a damn about the arts, poetry, theatre or novels; so don’t expect a heartlander to shell out for a book. You play to a certain audience, in every society. If you, as an artist, care about ticket or book sales, then it’s your job to figure out what readers want ...

Writer/artist Sonny Liew (whom I am ashamed to say has slipped beneath my own radar despite being nominated for the prestigious Eisner Award, while the recent French translation of his graphic novel Malinky Robot won the 2009 Prix de la meilleure BD award), quite rightly points out that things are changing for the better for writers with the Internet :

... which allows easier networking and online publishing, means there’s less isolation and less dependence on traditional forms of distribution and publication

Amir Muhammad says :

I never believe in ‘scenes’, just in individual writers. And on that note, there are a few rather strong writers indeed. Among fiction writers, Brian Gomez and Shih-li Kow are world-class and inimitably local.

As Rizal says at the end of his column, really it is up to all of us to give out local authors a chance!

I must add that I find it greatly encouraging to see space given to this discussion in the NST and hope there will be much more to come. Now that's a great way to boost local writing!

What They Said About the SWF

Zafar Anjum on the Writer's Connect website argues that although the theme for this year's Singapore Writers' Festival was Undercovers, a better word would have been Chaos - not reflecting the organisation of the event - but the fact that so many of the authors (including Mohd Hanif - left) were writing about the world in turmoil :

Throughout the festival, I was looking for one word or one term that could summarize the essence, the zeitgeist of our times. I looked at the books that were there on display in the Arts House bookstore. I tried to listen to the questions that people posed to their favourite writers. What was the gist, what was the spirit, I tried to figure out. ... Looking at the titles on display, one of the themes that strongly emerges is that of political power, violence and tyranny.

The biggest name at the festival as far as most young Singaporeans and Malaysians are concerned was Neil Gaiman. Tickets for the event proved difficult to get hold of and many fans were disappointed. (Okay, maybe here there was some chaos.) Niki Bruce in The Straits times writes about what happened when The Rock Star Writer took to the stage.

I like this :

He (Gaiman) came up with the theory that 'stuffed author' was a secret Singaporean delicacy, where you take "one graying, older author. Feed him wonderful food until he's completely stuffed, and then slice him up into little pick packages".

There's an account of just what one fan went through to get get ticket and attend the events here.

More about the part of the festival I attended later.

And if I find more responses to the festival on any website (surely there must be more out there???) I will post them below them later.

Postscript :

Damyanti writes about some of the sessions and workshops she attended at the festival here.

Singapore Writers Fest on YouTube

Okay, how about a quick break for an ad?

For 2009, the Singapore Writers Festival is going UnderCovers to bring you the literary talents from Singapore, the region and the world.

Singapore Writers Fest Pays us a Visit

It is really nice to see the organisers of the Singapore Writers' Festival reaching out to Malaysian authors and book lovers. They were in town Thursday for a press conference at MPH Mid Valley.

Singaporean lawyer and award-winning author Philip Jeyaretnam (fourth from left) is the chairperson of the SWF 2009 Steering Committee)talked about the interface between Singaporean and Malaysian writers and how an exchange of readers between the two countries was very much needed. (You can read more about what he says about the festival on Eric's blog.)

Phan Ming Yen (second from left, above) Assistant General Manager of The Arts House, gave an overview of the festival, beginning with the history. He talked about the richness of the literature coming from the region (some of it works in translation) and how it deserves to be better known worldwide.

He explained that the theme of the festival - unDERcover - could be interpreted in various ways - tucking yourself under the bed covers with a good book; exposing silenced voices; uncovering works that had not been available before.

(The theme) has allowed SWF to present readers a rich diversity of authors whose works - ranging from horror through crime to 'serious fiction' - are at once accessible and fun but yet serve as a metaphor for social and humanitarian issues.

The festival this year spans 9 days of events; features 100 participating writers and 150 events on the programme; and has a 60-40 ratio of Singaporean writers to overseas writers. (Check out some of the writers and what they think about coming to the festival on Eric's blog, and also here.)

The biggest name, as far as local readers are concerned is Neil Gaiman, and the organisers have had to move the event to a bigger venue because of the enormous demand for tickets.

Khor Kok Wah, deputy chief executive officer and Director, Literary Arts of Singapore’s National Arts Council (centre) spoke of Malaysia's cultural links with Singapore, naming for example the Second Link theatre performances, and the fact than our new writer laureate's works are studied in Singapore schools. He also pointed out that many Singaporean writers were born in Malaysia and there was crossing of the border on a personal basis, and a deep sense of sharing between the two countries.

Then it was over to the Malaysian authors. Anwar Ridwan (right) spoke about the need to identify new writing talent and about how we needed to know each others writers well.

KS Maniam (left) talked about the relationship with Singaporean writers, particularly in his own case with Edwin Thumboo.

And of course Malaysian poet and playwright Wong Phui Nam, of course, provided us with the biggest surprise of the afternoon. One which I'm still mulling over. (As, it seems from the comments on that post, so are you.)

Singapore Writers' Fest Needs You!

The Singapore Writers' Festival takes place between 24 October to 1 November 2009 at The Arts House, with the theme UNderCovers. The website promises that :

There will be something suitable for everyone whether you love thrillers and mysteries, fairy tales, or enjoy a tale or two about the dark side of the human condition.

And, they will need volunteers for the event :

... to ensure the smooth flow of events and human traffic and that the whole SWF experience is a most comfortable one!

Find out more here!

The Writer's Journey

If you're in Singapore, you might like to pop along to the Earshot Cafe at the Art House tomorrow, Friday 22nd May at 7 p.m.. I'm going to be in conversation with Wena Poon, talking about her first collection of stories Lions in Winter, which is also going to be published by Salt Publishing in the UK (hurray!!).

Wena has now completed a second collection The Proper Care of Foxes. We'll also be talking about writing and publishing in Malaysia and Singapore, and the problems of getting international distribution, and I'm sure, putting the world to rights (writes?) in general.

The event is presented by the Singapore Book Club and is part of the Singapore Writers' Festival. The talk is free but advanced registration is required. Email info@bookcouncil.sg with your full name and contact details.

Singapore Stories Part 2

A second dose of stories from the Singapore Writer's Festival.

Yesterday, I talked about out blogging panel. I realised just how skimpy I'd been when I read Ivan's account and he's recorded pretty much everything everyone said! The guy is nothing if not thorough.

Sharon essentially explained that she had a compulsion to write and blogging was her outlet. She often had to tell herself to stop posting (and occasionally feed her husband, she says).

How true!

I first met Captain Elmo Jayawardena (below) at the Ubud Writer's Festival last year, and he's one of the people who most gives me warm fuzzies of the heart.

Not only an award winning novelist (Sam's Story, based on the life of one of his servants, took Sri Lanka's Graetian prize in 2001) but also a great humanitarian, raising funds for tsunami victims and the destitute through his Association for Lighting a Candle (AFLAC). He has also been a Singapore Airlines pilot, and will be in KL soon running pilot training courses for Air Asia (at which point I promise I shall nab him for one literary event or another here!)

I went along to his session with Deepika in which he talked about his books and the project he's working on at the moment (a novel with a crow's eye view of humanity! He's even threatened to have a Sharon crow in it), and his new collection of short stories Rainbows in Braille, which was launched later in the afternoon. (In typical Elmo style, all proceeds from the sale go to charity).

Zafar writes wonderfully about Elmo and the launch, and if you aren't in love with the man before you reach the end of the post, I don't know what's wrong with you!

After that, I did a quick dash over to catch the last quarter of an hour or so of Malaysian laureate A. Samad Said's poetry reading with his son Az Samad playing jazz guitar. Excellent stuff, and I was sad that I hadn't been there for the whole thing. (That's the thing about writers festivals, you have to keep making tough choices when things you want to see are scheduled against other things you want to see!)

I did though catch a full session with Pak Samad (above and below) on the Sunday. He talked (among other things) about his connection to Singapore, his early influences, and the politics of being a writer in Malaysia. (I've bought a copy of his most famous work, Salina, in Malay, so wish me luck!)

I also went along to hear Czech Jewish writer Arnost Lustig (below), who has written about his time in the concentration camps. (He survived Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Dachau.)

I learned about the nature of man. Not everything, but enough ...

he said.

And told us a couple of very moving stories, about his early life and time in concentration camps.

One about how his friend stepped in to save his life when he was about to be shot for stealing bread, and another about the necessity "to become a man" even in the shadow of the camps with the ever present threat of death.

It could always have been much worse ...

he said, adding that the main quality in life is luck, and you also need to have luck as a writer to find editors and publishers. And publishers it seems are:

...the most brutal and cruel people.

So that was my Singapore Writers' Festival. As in the famous blind men and elephant story, I only experienced a little piece of it. I am still sad that I wasn't able to be there for the whole thing, but thoroughly enjoyed the sessions I did go to. The whole thing was very well organized and the programme wonderfully varied so as to provide for all literary tastes and language groups.

There were of course the writers who got away. I spotted Jung Chang in a white suit disappearing down a corridor and almost gave chase. I wonder if that thoughtful young man standing by the staircase was Su Tong? I was too shy to ask.

Passionate Poet from Straightlaced Singapore

Oh, okay. I could resist lifting Ishaan Tharoor's headline from his article about Cyril Wong in Time magazine (Asia edition):

It is one of the more delicious workings of karma that Singapore, which criminalizes homosexuality, should have as its leading young poet an openly gay man. But while Cyril Wong relishes waving "a purple flag" in socially conservative faces, his work expands beyond simple sexuality — being "just a gay poet," as he puts it — to embrace themes of love, alienation and human relationships of all kinds. His latest volume of verse, Tilting Our Plates to Catch the Light , is due to be published this month, hopefully to burnish further the international reputation that the previous five collections have established for him.

Wong, 30, burst onto the scene in 2000, with Squatting Quietly. It was, like many debut collections, a document of rebellion — in this case, against the values of his Christian, middle-class Chinese upbringing, and the social alienation that his sexuality entailed. Much of the latter had been brought into stark relief during 2 1/2 years of national military service, during which, he jokes, he was "too campy in the camp." His natural levity masks the loneliness and vulnerability he felt in the barracks. But ultimately it was poetry, rather than humor, that gave Wong a means of working through the frustrations driving him, at times, to a suicidal state of mind. "It helped me wash my dirty linen in public," he says.

You can read the rest of the article here.

The soft launch of Cyril's Tilting Our Plates to Catch the Light will be held at The Arts House at 8p.m. tomorrow.

Bibliobibuli for Singapore Writers' Fest

I've been a bit slow to post up something about the Singapore Writer's Festival which is happening from December 1st - 9th. I was waiting until the information about the session I'm involved in was posted up on the website!

I'm in a panel discussion on December 8th with Channel News Asia's Deepika Shetty and Ivan Chew*:

A treat for book lovers out there, World Wide Web of Words – Literary Blogs, brings together online communities of readers and writers. Thoughtful and insightful, our panelists will talk about their favourite page-turners and web pages! Log on and join in the fun!

Of course, while you're down there to see us (!) you might like to check out some authors who will be appearing including our own Tash Aw, Tan Twan Eng, A. Samad Said, Faisal Tehrani, Sharanya Manivannan and that superstar of local bloggers, Kenny Sia.

Or some of the other big names from across the world including Jung Chang (Wild Swans), Su Tong (Raise the Red Lantern), Kunal Basu (Racists), Irish poet Paddy Bushe, Israeli author Eli Amir, UK performance poet Charlie Dark, and cookery writer Madhur Jaffrey.

And of course all of Singapore literature's brightest and best ...

It's going to be a lot of fun for book lovers ... though I am frustrated that I won't be able to stay down in Singapore for the whole nine days.

(More discussion of highlights on Deepika's blog.)

Afterthought:

Really hate to sound ungrateful about something I'm actually very very grateful for, but am finding the website a nightmare to negotiate. I'd love a print out of the whole programme but there doesn't seem any way of doing this ...

(*I typed Eric Forbes before this as I had seen his name on the initial invite ... Sorry for misinformation. I seem to have been spreading a lot of it today.)

Wayang Kata IV ... and the Road to Singapore

And talking about poetry in performance, a quick plug for an exciting event that's coming up soon. This from the British Council's website:

WAYANG KATA IV: AN EVENING OF SPOKEN WORD

Getting it across!

Some say good things come in three’s but we beg to differ! Presenting the fourth edition of Wayang Kata – harder, better, faster, stronger!

Wayang Kata IV will feature an all-Malaysian line-up of poets that have attended our poetry workshops but here’s the twist: we’re going to have these wordsmiths battling it out for an opportunity to attend and perform at the Singapore Writers Festival in December.

The poets will be assessed by a panel of guest judges but ultimately the audience gets to sway the final decision! If you’re thinking Poetry Idol, you’re getting warm…

Back as emcees are Jerome Kugan and Jasmine Low also known as Troubagangers, our Wayang Kata co-presentors. The evening will also include special performances by our hosts, guest judges and new talent as well. Watch this space for updates and details.

Check out the competitors, note the dates and see you there!
Date Wednesday, 24 October 2007
Venue No Black Tie, 17 Jalan Mesui off Jalan Nagasari, KL
Time 8.30 p.m.
Admission RM10 at the door

For more information, email us at arts@britishcouncil.org.my

Well, there's nothing like a little competition to motivate folks to do their best, and judging by the list of poets who are up for it, it's going to be a tough contest!

This is what we know so far about the Singapore Writers' Festival:

In 2007, the nine-day festival will feature over 100 exciting programmes including film screenings (of literary adaptations), a book exhibition, panel discussions, literary tours and lunches, literary-related music performances and of course talks, book signings and readings by prominent writers.

The festival will be presenting, for the first time, a professional symposium, specifically focusing on the literary publishing industry. Industry experts from all over the world will be invited to give talks and take part in panel discussions. These sessions will also be opportunities for industry networking and information sharing among the key players in the literary ecosystem.

To generate buzz for the festival in December and to nurture a sustained interest in the literary arts, there will be monthly literary events leading up to the festival from February to October 2007.

The literary ecosystem? Either someone's been reading my blog or they're just as brilliant as I am. Publishing is an ecosystem, in which all parts must be healthy and in balance.

I know where I'm going to be in December!

Dream Ink at The Singapore Writer's Festival

A combination of circumstances conspiring against me (deadlines, the reading) and the kind of inertia that makes me angry with myself (particularly as I'm reading myself perfect in the loo every morning. Canfield in the can, haha!) meant that I did not manage to get down to the Singapore Writers Festival.

Fortunately, thanks to Zafar I was able to attend the sessions vicariously at least. Bruce Sterling, the well-known American science fiction writer, gave his take on Writing Sci Fi and painted a bleak picture of the world of the future.

Another session focused on crime writing, more specifically Women and Crime. Among questions raised:

Why is there so much of crime writing in the West? And why is there so little of crime writing in the East?

I find Nuri Vittachi's comment about writing in this part of the world in general very interesting:

Vittachi said that it was not just about the crime writers published internationally from the East but in general about writers in English from the East. He said that the simple reason was that there was no machinery to promote writers from this region: no literary agents, no publishers, no editors. But there was hope, he said. Two literary agents are now setting up office in Asia: one in China and another in Hong Kong.

Great to know!

There was a panel discussion Sexuality and Desire in Asian Writing consisting of writers Gerrie Lim (Invisible Trade), Wei Hui (Shanghai Baby; Marrying Buddha), and Isa Kamari (Kiswah). I'd have loved to have seen Wei Hui especially, having enjoyed her Shanghai Baby.

Then there was Tarun Tejpal, "India's ace journalist, editor, publisher" talking about his novel: The Alchemy of Desire.

and Colleen Doran

talking about graphic novels which are becoming increasingly popular in Singapore, and probably in Malaysia too. (Booksnobs like me haven't taken them seriously - after reading Zafar's entry I think I should begin to!)

Anyway, do go read the whole thing on Zafar's blog - this is very good stuff and the next best thing to being there yourself. I applaud the festival organisers for catering to a very wide variety of literary tastes. I think our own Litfest got a bit too snobby-elistist with almost no concession made to genre fiction. A narrow view indeed of what literature is.)

(By the way, did you know that one of Mills and Boon's top romance novelists lives in Cheras and is a HE writing under a female pseudonym?! Buy me a long-island iced tea for the rest of the story.)

Meanwhile, check out the Singapore Writers' Festival Blog for more stories and photos of other sessions. I'm jealous!!

DZ sent me this link to the excellent Kitaab website with plenty of Asian literary news.

South of the Border, West of the Lit World

How strange it is that Malaysia and Singapore are neighbours, share so much in common culturally and yet we often don't know what is going on down there. Thanks, Dina for passing on information about the Singapore Writers Festival 2005 which runs from 26th August-4th September 2005. Here's the blurb about it from the website:

The Singapore Writers Festival celebrates the power of the written word! Aimed at inspiring great writing and nurturing a greater understanding and appreciation of the literary arts, the Festival is set to carve out a bold new trail on the literary stage with its exciting programme line-up. In the spirit of great literature, the Festival offers over 80 events by 63 writers. The events range from talks, readings, panel discussions, workshops, master classes, performances, film screenings to book launches and author signings. Broadening its scope this year to include popular genres such as Crime, Science Fiction and Fantasy as well as Graphic Novels, the Festival has something for everyone to enjoy. Singapore Writers Festival 2005 has attracted a galaxy of writing stars. Some of our stellar names from the literary world include Manju Kapur from India, Peter Goldsworthy and Doris Pilkington from Australia, Nuri Vittachi from Hong Kong, Goenawan Mohamed from Indonesia, Yu Hua from China. Our award-winning authors from the genre of Science Fiction and Fantasy include Bruce Sterling, Robert J. Sawyer, Norman Spinrad, Cory Doctorow, Juliet Marillier, Jennifer Fallon. The Festival also presents rising stars from the Asia-Pacific literary scene such as Ouyang Yu and Kathryn Fox from Australia, Wei Hui from China, Ayu Utami from Indonesia, Tarun Tejpal from India, Rattawut Lapcharoensap from Thailand, Cyril Wong, Tan Hwee Hwee and Gerrie Lim from Singapore and Amir Muhamad from Malaysia. Interesting line up. A couple of names jump out at me. Wei Hui is the infamous author of Shanghai Baby, and Thai/American writer Rattawut Lapcharoensap's collection of short stories Sightseeing has won a great deal of critical acclaim.

And it's nice to see Ayu Utami in the line up. She was one of the most interesting speakers at our own Litfest last year. I also like the way that the festival doesn't only cater just for the lovers of literary fiction: there are science fiction and fantasy writers, as well as sessions about writing cookbooks, graphic novels and blogging. The programme is not up yet but I will be checking back frequently. And yes, I think I'm going to be going down to catch as much of it as I can.